Mikaela Anne Engeler, 28, walked free from the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday after being given the opportunity to serve the rest of her jail term in the community.

But she also received a reality check from Magistrate Bernadette Boss about the potentially lethal effects of illicit substances.

Court documents show Engeler was a passenger in a Holden Commodore pursued by police through three Belconnen suburbs on Boxing Day last year.

The car eventually stopped in Scullin and the driver ran. Engeler and another passenger also got out and were stopped nearby as they tried to walk away.

Engeler insisted she did not have any drugs on her, but the driver, who was also apprehended, told police: "Mikaela's got gear on her. She was going to pay me in meth for driving her around."

The 28-year-old was subsequently found to be hiding four bags of methylamphetamine and one of heroin in her bra.

They were seized along with other items located in her handbag, including a glass "ice" pipe, a set of digital scales and $750 in cash.

When asked why she had been dishonest, Engeler told police: "Well, as if I would tell you. I had a chance to get away with it."

Then, whilst she was on bail in March this year, police in Florey spotted Engeler heading towards "a location that is well-known as being actively involved in the distribution of controlled drugs".

When officers told her they intended to conduct a search, the 28-year-old yelled out to "friends" in the house and repeatedly tried to swing her handbag off her arm and towards the house.

She eventually admitted she was carrying methylamphetamine and heroin.

The quantities of methylamphetamine Engeler was caught with on both occasions exceeded the trafficable quantity, while both lots of heroin were small enough to be considered personal amounts.

Engeler ultimately pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and possessing drugs for sale or supply, as well as two counts of prohibited drug possession.

She also admitted two charges of possessing stolen property, after police found her carrying a driver's licence and proof of age card that were not hers when she was last arrested.

In sentencing on Friday, Dr Boss said Engeler appeared to have been "on a path to misery", selling illicit drugs to fund her own use.

The magistrate said methylamphetamine was a drug that had "a horrendous effect on people's health and well-being", and which could kill people.

She pointed out that Engeler, selling the substance, did not necessarily know how it had been manufactured and what was in it.

"These drugs are not playthings," Dr Boss told Engeler.

"They're a little bit like putting a revolver to your head, pulling the trigger and hoping the chamber doesn't have a bullet in it."

Dr Boss sentenced Engeler to more than four months of full-time imprisonment, which the 28-year-old had already served in custody on remand.

The magistrate also imposed a six-month intensive correction order, which is a jail sentence served in the community, and ordered that it start immediately.

One of the conditions of the order involves Engeler attending a drug rehabilitation program.